Ladies! A Caution To Wearing Heels.

The average woman takes 10,000 steps a day. Many don’t know this but high heels shift the weight and force of each step distributing more pressure on the ball of the foot and on the bones at the base of the toes. An average 3 inch heel creates three to six times more stress on the front of the foot than a shoe with a one-inch heel. Flats eliminate most of this pressure on the toes, distributing the weight more evenly through the foot.

Many patients complain of bunions, heel pain, toe deformities, tight calf’s, and trapped nerves (neuropathy). In fact, trapped nerves and many types of bone deformations corrected by surgeries can be linked back to their high-heeled shoe choice. We don’t just see problems in the foot, the ankle, knee, and hip joints can all be compromised by high heel wearers. When you walk in tennis shoes or flats, the muscles of the calf and thigh have an opportunity to contract as well as stretch out. This not only keeps the muscles mobile and healthy but also helps pump blood back to the heart.


While walking in heels and keeping the foot in this downward flexed position can cause a chain reaction higher up keeping the knee, hip, and low back in a somewhat flexed position as well. This position prevents muscles that cross the backside of these joints from stretching out as they normally would. Over time, this can lead to stiffness, pain, and injury. High heels can also cause lower back strain, because the heel causes your pelvis to go into flexion more than normal, increasing pressure on the back and exaggerating your lumbar curve. 

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